It is well known that from 1920 to 1950, Belgian comics, embedded in a
Catholic milieu, sometimes promoted anti-Communism. Au pays de la
grande angoisse, drawn by Renaat Demoen and published from 1950 to
1951 in Zonneland and Petits Belges, fits into this category. Nonetheless, its
ideological stance can be differentiated from that of series appearing in
major Franco-Belgian magazines. Au pays de la grande angoisse is Flemish,
intended only for the Belgian market, and therefore not subject to the control
of the French Control Commission set up by the July 1949 law. Its critique
of Eastern bloc countries is more explicit and more violent. Moreover, the
story appeared in comics with a religious affiliation. It sets out to denounce
the atheism of the Communists and to glorify the resistance of the believers.
Ultimately, Au pays de la grande angoisse is as much a Christian comic as an
adventure comic.